


Stiles Stilinski is an Idiot

by BansheeLydia



Series: Teen Wolf Bingo [10]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Getting Together, Oblivious Stiles, Pining, Summer School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 07:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4911448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BansheeLydia/pseuds/BansheeLydia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>written for the teen wolf bingo.</p>
<p>'He dropped down into the seat next to Erica.  She glanced over, smiling a little, and it always caught Stiles off guard how different her genuine smile was to the cooler one, the smirk, that she put on.  She looked even more beautiful; warm, happy.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stiles Stilinski is an Idiot

Signing up for summer school had seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, it meant he had to take less credits next year, so he wouldn’t have as many classes his senior year. More sleep, more free time, less stress. It just seemed logical. Plus, he wouldn’t just waste away his summer playing video games with Scott and trying to duck out of his dad’s ‘get a summer job’ lectures.

The second his alarm went off, Stiles instantly regretted it. 

Summer school was a _bad_ idea. He wanted to sleep. And play video games with Scott. And eat his own body weight in junk food. He rolled over, switching off his alarm, and closed his eyes. He was just starting to drift off again when there was a loud bang against his door. Stiles jumped so hard, he almost ended up on the floor, legs tangled in his sheets as he scrambled to get up.

The door swung open and his dad raised an eyebrow at him, trying and failing to hide his amusement. “You signed up for it, kid. You’ve gotta go.”

“As my parent, it should be your responsibility to talk me down from doing stuff like this,” Stiles replied. 

“Summer school’s a good idea. It’ll be good for you.” The sheriff paused, reconsidering that statement. “Is Scott going?”

After their sophomore year, Scott had attended mandatory summer classes. With the whole being turned into a werewolf thing and fighting to survive and protect people on a regular basis, his grades (and attendance) dropped pretty significantly. But he’d scraped it back during their junior year; his attendance maybe wasn’t model student ideal, but his grades had risen again (with a lot of help from Lydia, when the two of them weren’t making out), so he’d been lucky enough to escape it this year.

“Nope,” Stiles replied, opening his drawers and grabbing clothes to wear. “His GPA is looking pretty good again.”

John nodded. “It’ll be good for you,” he repeated.

Stiles chose not to dwell on the fact that his dad considered Scott being there too not a good thing. Probably because they tended to get up to all sorts of shit when they were together. It wasn’t their fault. Usually.

His dad disappeared and Stiles took a quick shower before getting dressed. The sheriff had already left for work, but there was coffee and toast waiting for him; he gulped down the coffee (gross tasting when his mouth was still minty fresh from brushing his teeth) and snatched up the toast to eat on the way, heading out to his jeep.

He had his pick of parking spots since there were only a few vehicles dotted here and there. The doors were open, but it was still strange walking through the school when it seemed so empty; his shoes squeaked against the corridor floor and he half expected some bad guy to jump out at him any second. Usually when he was in the school and hardly anyone else was he was running for his life. 

He tugged his phone out, reading a text from Scott.

_Are you at class already?_

He wrinkled his nose as he thumbed out a response. _Yeah, I’m here until 2 I think._

_Sucks, dude. Me Lydia and Isaac are going to the lake._

Stiles sighed. He’d knew he’d feel a little bit jealous when the others were out doing stuff and he was in school, but he figured since he only had a few classes each week, it wouldn’t be too bad. He’d still have plenty of time to hang out with his friends. But the _lake_. And it was so hot and stuffy. 

_Have fun_ he finally sent back, then tucked his phone away to look at his schedule. Monday was his busiest day; he’d decided that if he crammed most of his electives in on Monday, the rest of his week would be lighter, leaving him free to do what he wanted. He had Geography first thing; one of his worst subjects. 

His last class of the day was his creative writing workshop. He recognized a couple of other people in the class; some guy in his grade that had been in his AP Chemistry class last year and a junior that had tried (and horribly failed) to ask Malia out in the spring.

And Erica.

He was a little surprised, but he smiled. He and Erica were friends. Or, at least, he thought so. After being kidnapped by Gerard Argent and having the shit beaten out of them, they’d kind of bonded. All of them had finally learned to trust each other and they felt stronger as a pack because of it. More ready to face the people that tried on a regular basis to come after them. 

He dropped down into the seat next to Erica. She glanced over, smiling a little, and it always caught Stiles off guard how different her genuine smile was to the cooler one, the smirk, that she put on. She looked even more beautiful; warm, happy. 

“Hey,” he said. “I didn’t know you were taking summer classes.”

She rolled her eyes. “Remediation,” she said the word like she was swearing, “I missed a lot of school last year.”

Stiles winced, sympathetic. Erica hadn’t exactly had the best junior year. First, there was the wendigo, and they’d been so close to losing her that night; she’d taken a whole week off to heal. Then, the fucking vampire that had almost drained her and that was another couple of weeks of her being locked away so she wouldn’t give in to her impulse to go to the asshole. And there was the coven in the spring that tried to sacrifice her. Plus odd days of absence here and there, or skipped classes, so she could help track something, or help research or fight.

Erica looked over. “You?”

“Advancement,” he admitted. “So my course load won’t be as heavy next year.”

She grinned. “Nerd,” she said fondly.

“That’s me.” Stiles tugged his notebook and pencil case out of his backpack. “I didn’t know you were into creative writing.”

Erica looked away, shrugging slightly. “It was this or math.”

Stiles didn’t have super senses that told him by her heartbeat whether she was lying or not, but he could tell she wasn’t being entirely truthful. He didn’t push it though, just nodded and sat back in his seat. He danced his pen through his fingers as he waited for the teacher, managing to skim it across his knuckles before it dropped to the floor with a loud rattling sound.

Erica picked it up, winking at him in amusement as she passed it back to him, and Stiles couldn’t help the way his heartbeat sped up a little. 

Scott had accused Stiles several times that he and Erica were constantly dancing around each other. He denied it every time. Maybe he did flirt sometimes, and maybe Erica did too, and, yes, of course Stiles was attracted to her, with the warmth in her eyes and the sound of her laughter, but...he knew his crush wasn’t returned.

He knew she’d had a crush on him before, back before she was given the Bite, but she’d used the past tense and made it pretty clear she’d got over it. She hadn’t dated anyone since her transformation, despite many people asking (he didn’t blame her; to suddenly have people interested in her only because they now saw her as hot probably wasn’t the greatest feeling). She’d knocked them all back, saying she was interested in someone else. 

The thing was, Erica was smart. Incredibly so. She could keep up with Lydia. She often volunteered to help Stiles with research, actively wanting to study old texts until their eyes were sore to find the information they needed. She was so strong, too; Stiles had never seen her back down from anything. Whether it was the rock wall before her transformation, or the countless things she faced after, she took it all on with a kind of courage that Stiles really admired. She was sweet, too, beneath the bravado she put on at school; she was loyal and caring. And _funny_. She’d been the only one to laugh at Stiles’ _Star Wars_ joke at Lydia’s party last year and it had been then that Stiles knew he was fucked. 

But she was interested in someone else. So Stiles didn’t let his crush show.

Surprise flickered across Erica’s face when she noticed the change in his heartbeat and Stiles felt heat rise in his cheeks, but before either of them could say anything, the teacher swept into the room and the moment was gone. 

Stiles slumped down in his seat. _Fuck_.

 

She didn’t ask him about it. After class, they left together, walking out of school side by side, but she didn’t bring it up and neither did he. Stiles couldn’t help his relief.

He found himself looking forward his creative writing workshops. Erica was fun. The teacher was kind of stiff, the course material so stale, so to have someone like Erica sat next to him made it more bearable. They usually got lunch together after, or spent the afternoon hanging out. 

He was aware that he was spending more of his time with Erica than his other friends, but he didn’t want it to stop. 

“I’ve always liked poetry,” Erica told him as they walked into the school together. “Before Derek gave me the Bite, I used to write poetry all the time. It helped. When I felt like shit or I had a bad day at school, writing out my feelings in that way was a good escape.”

Stiles looked over at her. There was an almost sad kind of smile on her face and he reached out, giving her hand a quick, gentle squeeze. 

“I haven’t written as much since I turned,” she continued. “I haven’t exactly had the time. But I still like to write. It’s a good outlet.”

Stiles had never really felt like that; he was okay at writing essays, when he focused. But though he generally enjoyed creative writing, he never really used it as an outlet. He wasn’t creative enough. But he could see how much it meant to Erica.

They headed into the class together, sitting down. Stiles zoned out straight away, his usual habit in this workshop, and doodled in his notebook as the teacher starting speaking. He was only pulled back into the class when Erica’s hand shot up. 

“I’d like to read my poem.”

Stiles slid further down in his chair. Their homework had been to write a fancy type of poem. He’d managed one verse before giving up and watching a movie with Scott. 

“It’s about the guy I like,” Erica added and Stiles’ gaze shot to her face. 

“How original,” Mr Rinder drawled, but he beckoned Erica to the front.

Stiles looked towards the door, wandering if he could make a break for it without anyone noticing. No chance. 

Erica’s heels clicked on the floor as she walked to the front, notebook in her hands. She kept her gaze on her own handwriting as she opened her mouth and Stiles slouched, letting himself zone out. He didn’t want to listen to this. Hearing Erica talk about someone else, about the guy she was in love with... _ouch_. 

A spattering of clapping snapped him out of it and he looked up as Erica took her seat again, fingertips drumming against her thigh nervously. She glanced over at him and offered a hesitant smile and he quickly returned it. 

“So what did you think?” Erica asked as they walked out of the classroom.

“I liked it,” Stiles lied; he hadn’t heard a word of it. “He’s a lucky guy.”

She stared at him for a moment. “Yeah,” she finally replied. “Shame he’s such an idiot.” Stiles opened his mouth to speak, but she carried on, “I need to go to the library.”

He watched her go, confused, but when she turned the corner to go up the stairs, Stiles urged his feet to propel him forwards. It felt kind of lonely walking out of the school alone when he’d got so used to having Erica at his side. 

 

“I think I’m in love.”

Scott and Lydia didn’t look away from the movie playing on Stiles’ laptop. She wriggled a little closer on Scott’s lap, but didn’t even look Stiles’ way.

“With _Erica_ ,” he added, because they didn’t seem to understand his utter misery right now.

“We know,” Lydia replied with a roll of her eyes.

“It’s kind of obvious, buddy.”

Stiles groaned, flopping onto his back, head tucked against Scott’s leg. “What do I _do_?”

“Ask her on a date?” Scott suggested. “Buy her flowers?”

“Try not to be your usual self?” Lydia added with a smile, stroking Stiles’ hair.

He sighed, closing his eyes. They made it sound so easy. Like it wouldn’t end in Stiles’ complete heartbreak and eternal misery. Not to mention the humiliation and loss of a beautiful friendship when Erica turned him down. She liked someone else. Stiles didn’t want to put her in that position of having to turn down one of her friends. He didn’t want to ruin the good friendship they had.

Scott sighed. “Just...it’s worth a shot, right? And if she does turn you down, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends. You and Lydia are.”

Maybe it should be weird, Scott bringing up the fact that Stiles had once considered himself in love with Lydia and had been rejected by her, and now she was now with Scott. But Lydia just gave an encouraging smile and Stiles shrugged.

“Maybe.”

 

He got as far as Erica’s doorstep, flowers clutched in his hands, before his courage drained away.

He stared at the door, trying to bring himself to knock. Erica would open the door, he would tell her how he felt, and – and things would go from there. 

But what if it was one of her parents who answered? He’d have to awkwardly ask if he could see Erica with her mom or dad knowing exactly what he was planning and he didn’t really want to face that.

And...if she said no, it would suck. He didn’t want to put Erica in a position where if she said no, she’d then feel guilty and their friendship would be strained. He couldn’t do it.   
Releasing a soft sigh, he left the flowers on the doorstep and walked away.

He’d get over his feelings eventually.

 

“One sentence stories,” Stiles repeated.

Mr Rinder didn’t look up. “You heard me, Stiles.”

Stiles stared at the example the teacher had written on the board, then down at the blank page in his notebook. How the hell were you meant to write a one sentence story that actually had significant meaning? 

The others in the workshop had already started. Next to him, Erica started scribbling something down. Stiles frowned and leaned over to try and see, but she covered it, pushing him away. With a huff, he slouched down in his seat. 

He wrote a few things down, but none of them really made sense. He gave up eventually, dropping his chin on his hands and staring at the clock until Mr Rinder gave them a chance to read theirs out. Yeah, no chance.

Erica’s hand was the first one in the air and Mr Rinder beckoned her up.

“My story’s titled, ‘Stiles Stilinski is an Idiot’,” Erica said, fiddling with her notebook as she stood at the front.

Stiles sat up, frowning. “Hey!”

She cracked a small grin and looked down at her story, then up again, meeting Stiles’ gaze and holding it.

“Ask me out, you moron.”

His mouth dropped open. He heard a couple of other kids snicker and Erica just beamed, returning to her seat. 

“Well,” Mr Rinder offered, “It’s certainly...effective.”

Stiles turned to Erica, mouth open, but no words came out, shock holding his tongue. The blonde rolled her eyes, patting his shoulder. As soon as the workshop ended, Stiles scrambled to his feet, following Erica out of the room. 

She turned, folding her arms. “Well?”

“I – you -,” he spluttered. “You like someone else!”

“I like _you_ , idiot. I always have done.”

He gaped. “Then why didn’t you ever make a move?”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, shrugging. “I thought you were in love with Lydia.”

Stiles threw his hands up. “She’s in love with my best friend!”

“You stood outside my house for half an hour the over night. Why didn’t you just knock?” Erica demanded.

“Because I thought you’d turn me down. I didn’t want to put you in that position.”

Her expression softened even as she rolled her eyes. “ _Idiot_ ,” she said, but gripped his shirt in her hands and tugged him into a hard kiss.

Stiles kissed her back, closing his eyes as her soft lips moved over his own, warm body pressed against his, and they only pulled back when they needed to catch their breath. 

“So,” he murmured, “Coffee?”

Erica grinned. “Finally.”

**Author's Note:**

> kirasmalydia.tumblr.com - come say hello? :)


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